Van driver held for harassing sixth-grader

The Rawat police have arrested a van driver for allegedly sexually harassing a sixth-grade female student. The accused, who has been booked in a case, used to provide pick-and-drop service to the victim.

The suspects attempted to rape the girl in the school van. The victim saved her by shouting, resisting the suspect and jumping from the school van. She then reached home to narrate her ordeal to the family.

The victim's brother told the police that her 14-year-old sister studied at a local school. On the day of the incident, she reached home from school and looked very upset. When asked she told her elder sister that the driver of the school van, Pervaiz Iqbal, had sexually harassed her and tried to rape her by drawing a curtain on the school van. The accused made the same attempt in the past, the girl said.

Rawalpindi City Police Officer Syed Khalid Hamdani took notice of the news aired on Express News and ordered the Saddar SP to arrest the accused immediately. A special team was dispatched to locate Pervaiz and managed to arrest him.

According to the Saddar SP, the suspect will be brought to justice with concrete evidence and will be punished according to law.

He said that arrangements had also been made to ensure the safety of the girl during her movement from and to school.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2024.